The present invention relates to bioreactors and in particular to an improved bioreactor system and method including a disposable pumphead and tangential flow filter.
Bioreactor systems provide an environment supporting biological activity and known bioreactor systems build up metabolic waste in the bioreactor. The buildup of build up metabolic waste limits the amplification or cell growth within the bioreactor. As a result, known high capacity bioreactor systems require either a very large and expensive bioreactor or require filtering biological material in the bioreactor to continue the biological activity. Known pump and filter systems used for such filtering require a sterile environment. Components in the pump include parts which in some instances require replacement between each run. Mechanical pump components which wear or tear may give off debris into the bioreactor filter. Unfortunately, when pumps or filters of known systems require service or replacement, the required procedures can be time consuming due to the requirement to maintain the sterile environment.